Sapphire Eyes
by Blind Dreamer
Summary: This is a Zutara, Taang, and Sukka story. Filled with all the imagination and creativity I could put together. My first fanfiction, so...please go easy.


Hovering over the miles of their lost adventures, fond memories, and their deepest hardships, they looked down in shame. They had spent months, trying to protecting the world's one hope. The Avatar, but now, he lay half dead on the back of his beloved flying bison.

The wound was growing smaller, but the damage within all their hearts was great. They were responsible for this.

"Take a break Katara, it will heal with time." Sokka pleaded his sister. "You need to rest." Sokka could see the pain Katara was in, her hands were raw, her face strained, her eyes longing for sleep, but she wouldn't take a break, wouldn't let go. They had run out of food yesterday.

"Katara...rest, I'm gonna be fine." Aang mumbled, trying to smile, but it wasn't very convincing in Katara's eyes.

"You don't even know what a blow your body has taken! The burn almost went straight to the lungs! From the back! Do you know how deep that is?!" Katara's temper flared. She didn't like not being appreciated for her work.

Aang's head lay in Katara's lap, he was limp, couldn't eat or drink yet, they tried, but it made him choke.

The Earth King and Bosco were still tagging along, but they were weighing them down.

All the safe places to land were barren and desert. They had been on the run for four days now.

Sokka was upfront guiding Appa, he had had the most "experience". Toph would sit quietly for hours looking off into her never ending dark world. Katara worked endlessly on Aang's wound. The Earth King would sit with his bear in the back, asking unnecessary questions every once in awhile.

"We need to get back into the city while their guard is still down. As long as the city thinks that it is still under the rule of the Earth King, things will still be running smoothly, which will allow us to slip in almost unnoticed." Sokka said. Sokka liked to take action every once in a while.

"We can't go back yet, Aang needs to be ready to fight incase something happens. He is no good health for it right now. So until Aang is better, we need to keep making wide circles around the city." Katara defied her brother.

"We can take them!" Sokka exclaimed, pulling out his trusty boomerang with new found enthusiasm. Katara raised an eyebrow questionably.

"And what about the Earth King, Aang, and Toph?" Katara questioned. Toph threw a small pebble at Katara. Toph would have thrown a bigger one but she didn't want to get in a fight at her weakest point in time, flying. Katara simply brushed it off.

"Well, the Earth King could hide and Toph could come with us! We will be surrounded by earth, she will probably be the strongest of us both!" Sokka said, still keeping his positive attitude.

"Um..." The Earth King tried to talk, but was not heard.

"And Aang?" Katara pressed on, still a little nervous about her brother's plan.

"Can stay with the Earth King."

"The Earth King? Very safe." Katara teased. "No offense." Katara quickly apologized.

"Excuse me but..." The Earth King tried again. This time The king got both of their attention. "Someone has been following us." The Earth King pointed out a small craft flying not but one-hundred feet behind them.

Sokka then realized that he had left his post and quickly crawled back up onto the top of Appa's head.

"Yip yip." Sokka urged Appa to go faster.

"NO! PLEASE LAND!" They heard a voice from far behind them.

In Sokka's mind it would not be wise to land when they had such precious cargo, the Avatar and the Earth King.

Katara thought sequence was almost the same as her brother's, but she saw that the craft was so small, and it could only fit one person. If they caused any trouble they could take them on, easily.

"Sokka, they can't be much of a threat, it's only one person.

They looked back, the craft was loosing altitude. They were going to lose the person if they didn't land soon.

"Fine." Sokka grumbled. They landed safely and then traveled back some ways on foot to find the seeker.

To their great surprise it was Taio, the boy from the northern air temple.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Sokka asked, still a bit surprised. The Earth King and Toph were confused, and Aang was barely able to stand, they practically dragged him the whole way there, so they doubted that he knew what was happening.

"The air temple, it was attacked again, except this time they won! My Father is being forced to make weapons again, except this time under fierce supervision.

"But I thought you knew how to defeat them, your father was the one who made the Fire Nation's weapons, he should have known their weaknesses." Sokka said puzzled.

"It wasn't the Fire nation, it was the Earth Kingdom." Taio corrected.

"Earth Kingdom? How big was the attack? Why would they want the Northern Air Temple?" Katara asked.

"Uh huh, just another problem on our loooong list of things to do. Graaaaaaaand." Sokka said sarcastically.

"Sokka!" Katara scolded.

"Does that mean you'll help?!" Taio asked.

"Taio, we would love to help, but..." She trailed off looking down at Aang. Taio looked too, shocked.

"What happened?!" Taio asked, shocked.

"We were in Ba Sing Se when..." Could they trust him? They didn't want rumors spreading before they could enter the city. "We got attacked by the Fire Nation."

"Really? Where?" Taio asked. "Was it close?"

"Yeah Katara, where?" Toph teased. Katara gave her a stern look, but, then again, Toph couldn't see it. But Toph already knew that she was.

"Um...it was quite aways from here, no need to worry." Katara said.

"Good. So, how is he doing?" Taio asked.

"Fine, he's doing just fine. All he needs is rest." Katara reassured Taio

"So, you can't help?" Taio was disheartened as he thought about his father, laboring away without any hope of rescue.

"Hold it, how did you even find us? And how come your the only one who was able to escape?" Sokka asked quizzically, moving in closer.

"It was late, I couldn't sleep that night, and I saw them coming, so I quickly hooked a glider onto my wheelchair and came to find you."

"Hold it, you're saying that didn't even warn anyone? You just, left?" Sokka went on.

"Yeah, I didn't want to get trapped there, so I just took off."

"And how did you find us?" Sokka pushed on. Which was getting on Katara's nerves, but she knew not to stop him. He was too pushy to stop.

"I followed the rumors. You don't go unnoticed on the back of a flying bison ya know." Taio said with a smirk. Sokka thought about this for a moment.

"Fine...Katara, we really need to do something about this rumor thingy." Sokka said turning to his sister and shaking his head annoyed.

"So..." Taio pressed on. Katara took the bait.

"We will help." Katara assured him.

"Zuko it is all going as planned, we have the northern air temple in our grasp." Azula stated proudly to her brother.

"I still don't understand, why do you want the northern air temple, it's just filled with some stupid refugees. We should be going after the Avatar!" Zuko said angrily and confused.

"It's not the refugees I'm after, it's what waits somewhere inside these walls." She said, caressing the sacred walls with her fingertips. "And the Avatar is your problem, I have no need for him at this time."

"Then I will go after the Avatar myself!" Zuko said.

"You and what army?" Azula noted with a evil smirk. "Anyway, I still need your...assistance here brother. Remember, you're second in command now." Azula soothed.

"Then who is going to go after the Avatar?!" Zuko asked.

"Not to worry, Father...Fire Lord Ozai has that under control. Why? What do you need him for?" Azula said.

"I need to ensure my rightful place in the royal family." Zuko

"But brother, I already gave you my word, Father is waiting..." Azula tried but was cut off.

"Then why can't we go to him?!?!" Zuko asked impatiently.

"In good time Zuzu. We must first deal with some matters here." Azula said. "Zuzu" was trying her patients.

"Zuzu, you should probably get some rest, I will need you the full day tomorrow." Azula suggested. Zuko took his sisters advise and retired to his bed chambers.

Zuko waited for hours to hear his Azula's footsteps, which would mean that she was going to bed. But after the third hour of waiting he knew that she was up to something. Zuko climbed out of bed and walked over to the door, still no sound. Outside his door were two sleeping guards, he made his way past them and starded down the long corridor. There was machinery lining most of the walls, but there was still some ancient ruin peeking out. He studied it carefully, though he was not one to look deeply into something, Zuko was fascinated with the Avatar's past.

Pretty soon he had lost himself scavenging throughthe years of ancient history and before he knew it he literally bumped into Azula. They were both shockedto see eachother, both were suddenly very suspisious of the other.

"Brother, what are you doing up still?" Azula tried to hold back her suspicion. Zuko on the other hand...

"Azula what are you keeping from me?" Zuko queried.

"Now Zuko, why would you come to such a quick conclusion? I simply lost my way."

"For three hours? No, I won't fall for it this time. You won't make a fool out of me again!" Zuko flared. Azula was stunned.

Iroh hummed merrily in his confined quarters, though he was still hurt by his nephew's sudden transition. He could never depend on Zuko's actions anymore. Zuko was getting harder and harder to keep a hold of.

Iroh was served tea every day by the graciousness of a young flexible girl named Ty Lee who Iroh had grown to like the young girl, though she never stayed to chat, she provided Iroh with the love of his life, his one companion in this troubling time of doubt, Jasmine tea.

"Good afternoon!" Came Ty Lee's voice around the corner and then a second later he saw her on her hands at the door of his cell.

"Good afternoon to you too. Would you like to come join me for a good cup of nice hot tea?" Iroh offered.

"No, not today." She answered. Iroh offered every day, but she refused every time. He didn't take it as an insult, but he couldn't understand why she wouldn't come in. He thought that maybe his reputation scared her away, butif she was "friends" with his neice Azula she would have to be fearless. He brushed it off as always.

"Alright, perhaps tomorrow." Iroh suggested.

"Yes, maybe tomorrow." She agreed.


End file.
